A little ornithopod tells me that certain dino-l members are trying
their very hardest to bring an unofficial generic name for the new
Isle of Wight theropod into use. This unoffocial name is based on the
totally spurious misemphasised fact that the theropod was somehow
'cat-like': something that, as I said in a previous email on this
subject, is just untrue and the result of misunderstanding.
Inventing generic names for unofficial use is fun perhaps, yes, but
until a name is published for the animal in question, I'm afraid you
have to keep calling it 'the new Isle of Wight theropod'. That way we
all know what we are talking about (cf. Fruita crocodyliform).
However, two generic names for the animal have already been
published: 'Lengosaurus' and 'Gavinosaurus' (both Jane Kelly in
_Daily Mail_, 10-7-98). Both are based on the name Gavin Leng, the
name of the local man who found the theropod. Personally I detest
names which honour the names of people, but then I have no say in
what this animal will be eventually called. Stay tuned.
More theropod news is set to come out of the Isle of Wight. Believe
you, you will not **believe** it.
"Children laugh at me, women despise me"
DARREN NAISH
darren.naish@port.ac.uk